Game, Set, Match
by Arcynic
Summary: Nakatsu, Julia, and a battle of wits still left unsettled after all these years. [Oneshot]


"But...! It's _my_ hair!" The blond cried in protest, covering his precious golden locks with a towel.

"I don't care; you're getting the damn thing cut _now_. What good are you if you can't even see the ball through it?" His supervisor replied, having to lift the soccer star's bangs flattened under the towel in order to see his eyes. He whimpered at the supervisor and fellow soccer players snickered at his histrionics.

"Same old Nakatsu."

"Come on Shuuichi, join the world of adults! You still look like a brat!" A voice from the back called.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" He roared, kicking a practice soccer ball into the rowdy bunch. An echoing cry of pain sent the locker room into another round of laughter. He hmphed, pulling on a particularly long bang dejectedly.

His supervisor sighed, "Look, we've hired a professional and they're bound to do a good job. So just go, eh?" The blond frowned but eventually nodded, knowing that his supervisor was only thinking of his best interests.

"Good!" His supervisor said with a grin, "It's coming out of _your_ paycheck after all!"

"WHAT!" He screeched, stalking after the older man who had suddenly sped up his pace, with vicious intent. "Hey, I was talking to you _old_ man!"

"This guy...so noisy." His supervisor was telling two unfamiliar people with a twitch of annoyance.

"Haa, but that's not so b-..." A woman with straight blond hair peered over his shoulder to the soccer star.

Her eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

"...!"

They pointed to each other in shock, but neither could make a sound.

What had followed after having his hair washed by her assistant was a period of extended awkward silence punctured only by the _snip snip_ of her scissors as she worked methodically behind him.

"Oi. What are _you_ doing in Japan?"

An eyebrow rose as she continued to snip away at his precious hair, "Ho? So after years of looking like a 'yankee' you've finally mastered the _Engrish_ language?"

He huffed and she grinned, knowing that her assault on his bad accent had succeeded.

"At least my dye job looks better than yours." But he was never one to admit defeat so easily.

She yanked violently at his hair, jerking his head backwards with her hand, and snipped with such ferocity that even his hair seemed to tremble afterward. He gulped and there was silence once more—silence and the sound of scissors.

"But I'm surprised you're the professional they sent for..." He muttered, more as an afterthought to himself than anything else.

"_What was that?_" He was suddenly very aware of the pair of sharp scissors in her possession and her murderous intent. Remembering his last run in with her wrath only a few moments ago, he wisely decided to defend his statement. "No, I mean...it's such a coincidence that it's you and... well... I didn't imagine you would become a hairdresser..." He winced and prayed that he would come away with _some_ hair left after this whole ordeal was over. She paused in her hair cutting.

"I...was the one that cut her hair...right before she left." She finally said in a faint voice, as if lost in her own thoughts. If she noticed his sudden twitch at the remark she didn't say.

_snip snip_

"But look at you. Who would've thought that the big talker from back then would actually manage to make it into the J League." She replied, having been admittedly surprised at the discovery.

"Heh. Of course. I'm the Lion of Osaka after all!" He smirked.

"Who's getting his mane cut."

He growled and she took it as another sign of her victory.

"So who're you competing against next in the World Cup?" 

"...Germany." His voice had a faraway quality to it.

"Oh? I hear they're good."

"Aa..." He blinked, suddenly coming out of his slight reverie, "Wait, do you even know anything about the game?"

"Of course!" She replied, an indignant flush on her cheeks.

"Then what's the name of America's team?"

"Ah...that is...erm..." He snorted. They were tied.

They lapsed into another period of silence, though it was less awkward and more comfortable now.

_snip snip snip_

"...Have you seen them recently?" He finally asked, knowing that it had to be brought up sooner or later.

"Aa..." She seemed hesitant in speaking, "I… was in California a few months ago."

"Don't you live there?" He interrupted, confused.

She shrugged, "My job requires me to travel a lot."

"Are you really that g-" He cut himself off catching the glint of steel behind him. He coughed, "I mean... how are they?"

"Sano's still high jumping. Mizuki's...the same as ever. She's aiming to become a dog trainer. They both attend Berkeley."

"They don't share a room there too, do they?" He furrowed his eyebrows slightly and she had to allow herself a laugh.

"Oh! Actually, I have a recent picture of us. You've never seen Mizuki with longer hair, right?" She placed the scissors down and went to fetch wallet out of her purse. She fumbled for a bit before triumphantly handing him a picture, slightly worn at the edges. Julia, still with her old curly hair and Sano, whose dark hair was slightly spiked, sat on opposite sides of a girl with bright amber eyes and shoulder length hair. They were all smiling. His eyes softened.

"...Can I have this?"

Under normal circumstances, she would have put up a haughty front and turn him down until he begged for it. But he wore an expression of such sincere nostalgia that it veritably put a stake in her plans. Instead she smiled lightly, taking up her scissors again, "Yeah."

_snip snip_

"...Hey Julia?"

_snip_

Her heart nearly skipped a beat. It was the first time he had ever called her by her name. It was somehow very unnerving.

"...W-what..._Shuuichi_?" 

_snip snip_

He turned to face her, grinning widely, "Now that we've reacquainted and such, would you mind being a pal and doing the haircut for free?"

She twitched, using both her hands to forcefully turn his head forward again, nearly slicing his ear in the process. "Of course not, idiot. Where would the profit in that be?"

He scratched his cheek idly as she started on his hair again, turning his gaze toward the ceiling, "Profit, eh? ...Mom would probably like you."

_snip_

"What did you say?" She asked menacingly, having vaguely heard him whisper something to himself.

"Nothing, macho American girl."

She hmphed, "Stupid monkey boy."

-------------------------------

A/N: After reintroducing myself to which I had pretty much given up on beforehand, I found that the Hanakimi fandom is pretty small, and the NakatsuxJulia fandom is even smaller, so I decided I should post this fic I wrote a while back. Sure, the two didn't have much time together, but the sparks _did_ fly in the few volumes she was in. (By the by, I was _so_ angry that Julia didn't show up again. She was _such_ a cool character.) To be honest, even with the little interaction they had, I was more drawn to them than Sano and Mizuki. They were just the typical couple…their dynamic just wasn't as fun as Nakatsu and Julia's.

Back when I wrote this I also had more ideas for fics between these two but that ship has basically passed, methinks. Oh well, comments/criticisms/etc very appreciated.


End file.
